11 Now Jesus[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:
“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread,[b]
4 and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence[c] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Is Jesus telling us to pray exactly those words?
2. What does "Hallowed be you name" mean? Why God's "name" in particular? What's the significance of God's name?
3. What does it mean by asking God's kingdom to come?
4. Why do we need to ask for our daily bread?
5. Why do we daily need to ask God to forgive our sins? Didn't Jesus do it once for all on the cross?
6. Are we telling God that we forgave everyone else? Is that necessary for us to be forgiven? Is our forgiveness conditional?
7. Why would God lead us into temptation?
8. Is Jesus telling us to be impudent?
9. Is there any conditions on ask and it will be given to you, etc.?
10. Vs 13 says, God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. Is this limiting what God will give us to the Holy Spirit (if it is, it's more than enough)?
https://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2015/01/matthew-65-15-5-and-when-you-pray-do.html?zx=3e962c7379c98f74 says:
ReplyDelete"God already knows my needs, but He wants me to pray anyway. So prayer is not so much for God’s benefit, but for mine. I verbalise in prayer the things I need. God chooses to answer me not because I have needs, but because I bring those needs to Him rather than try to meet them in my own strength. And He is not all that keen on repetition.
I guess when God hears the Lord’s Prayer yet another time he by-passes the words and looks for the heart. I already knew this, Lord. I can just imagine You sitting in heaven saying, “Oh no! Here he goes again with the Lord’s prayer thing. Can’t he just talk to Me? What’s with the “pray like a robot” response everytime he wants to come into My presence?” If God got bored, it would be with that prayer, I’m sure.
1 John 5:14-15 (NLT) says, “And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for.”
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My 2 cents on why ask God when He already knows our needs:
Anyway, our biggest need is our connection to God. We usually aren't aware of that, but are aware of much more petty needs. When we bring our needs before God, we are meeting the much bigger need of connecting with God. If God were to just silently provide everything we needed, we would ignore Him all the more. When we have something that concerns us, and we go to God for it, we learn to depend on Him and on that connection with Him.
So, our primary need is our connection with Him. Secondary wants and needs drive us to Him. When we ask Him and He provides, it gives us faith, and we learn to go to Him more.
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"The Lord’s Prayer should be understood as an example, a pattern, of how to pray. It gives us the “ingredients” that should go into prayer. Here is how it breaks down. “Our Father in heaven” is teaching us whom to address our prayers to—the Father. “Hallowed be your name” is telling us to worship God, and to praise Him for who He is. The phrase “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is a reminder to us that we are to pray for God’s plan in our lives and the world, not our own plan. We are to pray for God’s will to be done, not for our desires. We are encouraged to ask God for the things we need in “give us today our daily bread.” “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” reminds us to confess our sins to God and to turn from them, and also to forgive others as God has forgiven us. The conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” is a plea for help in achieving victory over sin and a request for protection from the attacks of the devil."
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Nothing you do will help you earn heaven, not your offerings, nor your good deeds, nor your forgiveness! Only though grace, only through what God did for you through Jesus Christ, will you be saved if you accept His offer.
The whole essence of the gospel message is forgiveness. If Jesus was willing to die for us so that our enormous debt of sin would be paid off and forgiveness of our sins was made possible, how could we not but forgive the sins of others?
Only when you have been touched by Jesus’ forgiveness is this possible. Humanly it is impossible to forgive someone who has hurt us, unless we have some love for that person. However, in Christ nothing is impossible (Phil 4:13)!
Wow! Is this in contradiction to what we said earlier? Not really. Those who can’t forgive have not understood and accepted Jesus’ forgiveness fully and are thus not saved, not because they won’t forgive, but because they have not accepted Jesus fully into their life.
Do you have you trouble forgiving someone? May I encourage you to come to Jesus and hand Him over that burden. He will give you rest and help you experience victory over unforgiveness. Finally you will be freed from that burden.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary says:
ReplyDeleteSo Jesus gave them the substance of the Model Prayer in Matthew, but in shorter form. Jesus warns us against repetitive prayers. In fact, in the verse immediately proceeding the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:7, the King James Version says this: “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.”
Clearly, Jesus was not intending to give the disciples some sort of prayer that they could memorize and then just deliver. It’s much deeper than that. Jesus wanted to give His followers a model to follow when addressing God so that we can learn how to pray like Jesus Himself prayed.
The prayer covers all life. (a) It covers present need. We are not to worry about the unknown future, but to live a day at a time. "I do not ask to see/The distant scene--one step enough for me." (b) It covers past sin. When we pray we cannot do other than pray for forgiveness, for the best of us is a sinful man coming before the purity of God. (c) It covers future trials. Temptation means any testing situation.
Illustration - 5yr. old to friend, “me and my dad built a tree house.” (Did the 5 yr old participate? Yes. Did dad need his help? Not really. Would dad agree w/his statement? happily!)
Matthew's longer Version of the "Lord's Prayer"
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] (Mt 6:9-13)
Ironside writes that "There does not seem to be any valid reason for supposing that He meant it to be repeated frequently, or as part of a service of prayer or worship, as it is commonly used today. No mention is made of its use in the early Christian assemblies of the book of Acts, nor is it even referred to in the Epistles....Now that the Holy Spirit has come to guide us in our supplications, it would seem needlessly formal to be bound to use the exact words we have here when we come to God either in public or in private devotions."
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteOur open access to God that leads to a close relationship with Him should not destroy our esteem for Him. He is not the “big guy in the sky” or “our buddy.” He is the holy and awesome God of Israel, before whom we should tremble like Isaiah did in Isaiah 6.
the Old Testament saints hardly ever addressed God as Father. in all of the Old Testament God is referred to as Father fewer than seven times. We in the New Testament too often either forget or become complacent regarding the great privilege we now have to boldly approach the Throne of Grace because Jesus' sacrifice has flung wide open the doors to the Throne Room and the presence of the Father.
Mattoon adds - God is only referred to as "Father" fourteen times in the Old Testament's thirty-nine books, and even then, rather impersonally. In those fourteen occurrences of Father, the term was always used with reference to the nation of Israel, not to individuals. In the entire Old Testament, you will not find one individual speaking of God as Father.
Jesus Himself addressed God only as Father (some 60 times in the Gospels), never referring to Him by any other name! Virtually all of Jesus' prayers were addressed to God as Father (exception in Mt 27:46)
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:14-15)
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteHallowed be Your Name. This petition is as much an expression of worship as it is a petition.
Jesus is saying in this prayer is, “Father, may Your person, Your identity, Your character, Your reputation, Your very being always be honored.”
To make something “hallow” carries two basic ideas in the Greek. The first means to make an ordinary thing extraordinary by bringing it into contact with something extraordinary. That’s how it’s used in 1 Peter 1:16 where God says, “Be holy because I am holy.” We’re unholy, but by coming into contact with One who is holy, we can be made holy. The second meaning for “hallow” means to treat something or someone as set apart or separated. To “hallow” God’s name therefore is to hold His matchless being in awe and veneration so that we will believe what He says and obey Him. Friends, we have to guard against becoming flippant and shallow in our view of God.
Hallowed (hagiazo) means treated as holy, dedicated, consecrated, set apart, sanctified. It means to set apart for God, to sanctify, to make a person or thing (in the OT altars, days, priests, etc were set apart) the opposite of koinos, which means profane or common.
Mattoon on hagiazo - A thing which is hagios is different from other things. A person who is hagios is separate from other people. So, then, this petition, "hallowed be thy name," means, "Let God's name be treated differently from all other names. Let God's name be given a special position which is absolutely unique. Christians are also commanded to be holy, but our Lord is acknowledged as being holy. When we pray "hallowed be they name," we attribute to God the holiness that already is, and always has been His. To hallow God's name is to revere, honor, glorify, and obey Him as perfect. We do not need to pray that the Lord will become more holy, for He is already holy. It is the essence of His being. The name of the Lord is holy.
In Hebrew the name does not mean simply the name by which a person is called-- John or James, or whatever the name may be. In Hebrew the name means the nature, the character, the personality of the person in so far as it is known or revealed to us. That becomes clear when we see how the Bible writers use the expression. The Psalmist says, "Those who know thy name put their trust in thee" (Ps 9:10). Quite clearly that does not mean that those who know that God is called Jehovah will trust in him. It means that those who know what God is like, those who know the nature and the character of God will put their trust in him. The Psalmist says, "Some boast of chariots and some of horses, but we boast of the name of the Lord our God" (Ps 20:7). Quite clearly that does not mean that in a time of difficulty the Psalmist will remember that God is called Jehovah. It means that at such a time some will put their trust in human and material aids and defenses, but the Psalmist will remember the nature and the character of God; he will remember what God is like, and that memory will give him confidence. So, then, let us take these two things and put them together. Hagiazo, which is translated to hallow, means to regard as different, to give a unique and special place to. The name is the nature, the character, the personality of the person in so far as it is known and revealed to us. Therefore, when we pray "Hallowed be Thy name," it means, "Enable us to give to thee the unique place which thy nature and character deserve and demand."
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteWhen Ezekiel prophesied against Israel, the word of the Lord explained the foundational problem as Israel’s failure to recognize the LORD’s name.
"Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned (defiled, polluted, desecrated, treated with abuse, irreverence, or contempt) among the nations where you went. And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. (Ezekiel 36:22-23-note)
J C Ryle explains that "By the “name of God we mean all those attributes through which He is revealed to us—His power, wisdom, holiness, justice, mercy and truth. By asking that they may be “hallowed,” we mean that they may be made known and glorified. The glory of God is the first thing that God’s children should desire. It is the object of one of our Lord’s own prayers: “Father, glorify (aorist imperative) Your Name!” (John 12:28). It is the purpose for which the world was created; it is the end for which the saints are called and convened. it is the chief thing we should seek—“that in all things God may be praised”
Name (3686) (onoma) is the proper name of a person or object. In our modern world, a name does not have the same significance as it did in antiquity. In both the Old and New Testament times "the name" concisely summed up all that a person is. One's whole character was implied by their name. And so it follows that the Names of God denote not just His title, but also include all that by which He makes Himself known and all that He shows Himself to be.
Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" And God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. (Exodus 3:13-15)
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain." (Exodus 20:7)
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe. (Pr 18:10-note)
acknowledging God by His various names, although highly commendable, does not encompass the fullness of what is called for in hallowing His name. In other words, we don't just speak His Name with our lips, but we are called to live in the light of the truth of His Name. Believers as a royal priesthood are to represent His Name by walking "in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called." (Ephesians 4:1).
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDelete"this is the petition that makes hypocrites out of most of us. For we can say "Father" with grateful sincerity, but when we pray "Hallowed be thy name," we say this with the guilty knowledge that, as we pray, there are areas of our life in which His Name is not hallowed and in which, furthermore, we don't want it to be hallowed. When we say "Hallowed by thy name," we are praying,
"May the whole of my life be a source of delight to you and may it be an honor to the name which I bear, which is your name. Hallowed be your name."
The trouble is that we so frequently know there are great areas of our life that are not hallowed. There are certain monopolies which we have reserved to ourselves, privileged areas which we do not wish to surrender, where the name of our boss or the name of our girl friend or some other dear one means more to us than the name of God. But when we pray this, if we pray it in any degree whatsoever of sincerity or openness or honesty, we are praying,
"Lord, I open to you every closet, I am taking every skeleton out for you to examine. Hallowed be thy name."
This phrase, "Hallowed be thy name" is really a cry of helpless trust, in which we are simply standing and saying,
"Father, not only do I know that there are areas in my life where Thy Name is not hallowed, but I know also that only You can hallow them, and I am quite willing to simply stand still and let You be the Holy One Who will actually be first in my life."
When we say,
"Father, there is no area of my life that I'm not willing to let you talk to me about, there is no area that I will hide from you, my sexual life, my business life, my social life, my school life, my recreation times, my vacation periods,"
that is saying, "Hallowed be thy name."
"If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin," (1 John 1:7 RSV).
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeletePhillip Keller on Your kingdom come - When all is said and done, most of us from our earliest childhood believe we are the king of our own castle. We determine our own destinies; we arrange our own affairs; we govern our own lives. We become supreme specialists in selfish, self-centered living where all of life revolves around the epicenter of me, I, mine. So, if I sincerely, earnestly, and genuinely implore God to come into my life and experiences, there to establish His Kingdom, I can only expect that there is bound to be a most tremendous confrontation. It is inevitable that there will follow a formidable conflict between His divine sovereignty and my self-willed ego. When I pray, “Thy kingdom come,” I am willing to relinquish the rule of my own life, to give up governing my own affairs, to abstain from making my own decisions in order to allow God, by His indwelling Spirit, to decide for me what I shall do.
Luke 11:3 'Give us each day our daily bread.
The prayer now shifts from the God-ward focus to the man-ward focus. Once God is given His rightful place, then we have a proper perspective toward ourselves. Some people feel that it’s too selfish to ask God for their own needs, and yet this is exactly what Jesus is teaching us to do.
One clear implication of this petition is that our Father wants to hear our voice each day! Have you spoken with Him today? Praying this prayer is a reflection of our dependence on Him and our faith that He will supply our need. Another implication of this request acknowledges our daily dependence of God not self, trusting in His sufficiency to supply our needs (not our greeds).
Brian Bell has a convicting thought - I believe when we won’t seek Him, He will teach us to pray.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe....48 “I am the bread of life. 49“Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50“This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” (John 6:35, 48-51)
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteAnd forgive us our sins
Rod Mattoon - This second clause in the sentence does not mean that we must earn God's forgiveness with our own forgiveness of others. Our forgiveness of others demonstrates our felt need of being forgiven by the Lord. It shows what the Lord has done in us and for us. The attitude of forgiveness of others demonstrates genuine repentance. No repentant person truly seeks forgiveness who does not have a forgiving spirit himself. We must not expect our prayers for forgiveness to be heard, if we pray with malice and spite in our hearts towards others. We are wasting our time. To pray in such a frame of mind is mere formality and hypocrisy. So let me ask some probing questions here. Do you need to forgive your wife or husband? Make up your mind to do so right now. Have you been unwilling to forgive your parents for things that have happened in the past, perhaps many years ago? Promise God that you will do it. In fact, do it today! Forgiveness is not a psychological trick. It is a miracle and God can help you do it. If He commands us to forgive, He will give us the ability to do it (Ed: The Holy Spirit will give us the desire and the power to forgive! Php 2:13NLT).
"An unforgiving Christian is a contradiction in terms."
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. (Mt 6:14-15-note)
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteYou may be asking "Well I thought Jesus paid for all my sins on the Cross didn't He?" And the answer is of course He did. He became a curse in our place and God's righteous wrath judged our sin which was laid on Christ. So yes our position now is perfectly righteous before the Father because we are forever in Christ, the Righteous One. That is "judicial forgiveness. But unforgiveness is a sin that creates a break in fellowship with the Father. That is "paternal forgiveness" and it is that forgiveness which is conditioned upon our willingness to forgive others their sin against us. Stated another way it is not a matter of my eternal standing before God but a matter of my present relationship with Him.
John MacArthur - The question naturally arises as to why the Lord commands us, whose sins have already been forgiven, to ask the Father for forgiveness. The answer lies in grasping a second aspect of forgiveness, relational forgiveness. While believers’ sins—past, present, and future—were forgiven at the point of salvation, they nevertheless still sin. Those sins do not change the declaration by the “Judge of all the earth” (Gen. 18:25) that Christians are just and righteous because their sins were paid for by the death of Christ. But they do affect their relationship with God, whose “eyes are too pure to approve evil,” who “can not look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13). David’s penitent prayer in Psalm 51 illustrates this principle. His terrible sin with Bathsheba did not cause him to lose his salvation; in fact, in Ps 51:14 David addressed God as “the God of my salvation.” It did, however, disrupt his communion with God, causing him to cry out, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation” (Ps 51:12). He did not ask for his salvation to be restored, but rather for his relationship with God to be restored so his joy would return.
MacArthur goes on to explain why our forgiveness of others is so important - Those who come to God seeking relational forgiveness will find it only if they forgive those who have wronged them. The Lord gave this prerequisite because bitterness can easily reign supreme in the human heart. People hold grudges—sometimes for a lifetime—and are prone to seeking vengeance.
Steven Cole explains it this way - I’m my dad’s son because I was born into his family. I’ll always be his son, even if I wrong him. But he and I can only enjoy a close relationship if, when I wrong him, I confess it and ask him to forgive me. In the same way, we will drift in our relationship with the heavenly Father if we are not sensitive to our sin by coming to Him for forgiveness as we need it....This means that your relationship with God is inextricably linked with your relationships with your fellow man, especially with those in your family and in the church. You can’t just walk away from a strained relationship as if it doesn’t matter. If you’re bitter, you can’t pray rightly until you choose to forgive. And, the rest of us must pray for those in the church who are hurt and bitter, that they would forgive those who have wronged them.
(My 2 cents: The above seems to distinguish between judicial forgiveness and relational forgiveness. I am not convinced there is a distinction here. I think that if you harbor unforgiveness in your heart (long term), you are not saved, period. When God redeems us, He redeems us from unforgiveness too. If a unforgiving heart remains, it's a sign of an unredeemed heart.)
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteBrian Bill - Forgiveness of sin is the greatest need of the human heart. Only God can grant us a pardon from punishment and guilt. It’s been my observation that there is one thing that troubles Christians more than anything else. It’s guilt. We kick ourselves for our failures and punish ourselves relentlessly. Let’s pray this prayer, asking God to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Romans 8:1 declares that there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Let’s claim it and live without being paralyzed by guilt and shame. Now, having said that, notice that Jesus immediately gives us a limitation we are to also forgive others. This verse teaches us that it is wrong to ask from God what we are not willing to give to other people.
Brian Bell - This is a prayer for believers, so this isn’t for salvation, but it assumes a regular need for confessing sin, even as 1 Jn.1:8-9. Could it ever read? “Lord, Forgive me my debts, even if I won’t forgive any debtors.” or, “Forgive me my debts, but don’t you dare think I’m forgiving my debtors.” BB.In asking for forgiveness of sins a person expresses his faith that God will forgive him. Such a person then evidences his faith by forgiving others.[see Mt.6:12-note where as = because]
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteAnd lead us not into temptation - NLT has "And don't let us yield to temptation." “Do not allow us to be led into temptation”, “Keep me away from the place of temptation”
Like the petition for daily bread, this petition expresses our desire to depend on his daily power to fight against the world, the flesh and the devil.
God does not tempt anyone to do evil, but He does permit tests to come into the lives of believers, as He did to Job (Job 23:10), Abraham (Heb. 11:17-19), Paul (2 Cor. 12:7-10), and Jesus (Heb. 5:8), as part of the process of strengthening and maturing them (Deut. 13:3; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 5:10). How believers respond to those tests determines whether they remain perfecting trials that bring spiritual growth, or become debilitating temptations that overwhelm them and lead them into sin.
Rod Mattoon explains that the Greek word for temptation (peirasmos) "refers not so much to solicitation to do evil or enticement to sin, as to trials that test the character of a person. God does not tempt us to do evil. Why do we need to pray that He will not lead us into testing or temptation? Even though God is not the instrumental cause or author of our testing, He does permit or allow us to experience temptation from the world, from the flesh, and from the devil. The Bible is clear that temptations and testings are going to come into our lives. They are unavoidable.
Brian Bill - You and I are faced with temptations all around us. The Greek word translated temptation is neutral and can refer to a test or a trial. This phrase should read, “And lead us not into trials or testings that can turn into temptation.” The word “into” means “into the power of” or “into the hands of.” And so, we are to ask God to keep us from falling into the power of trials and temptations. We are not strong enough to handle these on our own. Will God answer a prayer like this? You bet He will. 1 Corinthians 10:13-note gives us a wonderful promise. Brothers and sisters, ask God to lead you away from temptation. When you’re faced with an enticement to sin, look for the way out. God is faithful and will not leave you to face your temptations alone.
Although God never directly tempts believers (James 1:13), He does sometimes lead us into situations that “test” us (cf. Matt. 4:1; also Job 1:1-8; 1 Pet. 1:6; 4:12). In fact, trials and hardships will inevitably come to believers’ lives, and believers should “count it all joy” (James 1:2-note) when trials (Ed: Trials = peirasmos) come, for they are strengthened by them (James 1:3–4-note).
Trials are intended to make us think, to wean us from the world, to send us to the Bible, to drive us to our knees.
Jesus means that we should cultivate the attitude of fleeing from every situation where we might fall into sin. The idea is that, far from leading us into temptation (which He cannot do), God would lead us into His ways of righteousness where we will be kept from sin. So the prayer, “Lead us not into temptation,” is an acknowledgement of the weakness and sinfulness of our hearts. It is an admission that if God were to withdraw His gracious hand, we would fall into sin immediately. It is an attitude that flees temptation rather than sees how close to the brink we can come.
ILLUSTRATION -There’s a story about a fellow who was having trouble with his diet. He prayed, “Oh Lord, if it be your will for me to not have donuts, please don’t let there be any parking spaces in front of Krispy Kreme.” But alas he did eat a dozen donuts that day because there was a parking space in front, on the twelfth time around the block.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteSTORY OF THE FRIEND AT MIDNIGHT
Persistence, or boldness, in prayer overcomes our insensitivity, not God's. To practice persistence does more to change our heart and mind than His, and it helps us understand and express the intensity of our need. Persistence in prayer helps us recognize God's work.
All of us who are Christians have struggled with the problem of unanswered prayer. In fact, that problem can discourage us so much that we start thinking, “What’s the use?” and we even quit praying. We hear stories of how God answered prayer for others, but for us it just doesn’t seem to work. Sometimes we may try again, but we’re like boys who ring the doorbell and run away. We don’t stick around long enough to find out if God is home and if He is going to open the door and answer our request.
NET Note - The background to the statement I have nothing to set before him is that in ancient Middle Eastern culture it was a matter of cultural honor to be a good host to visitors.
My children and I are in bed (my children with me are in the bed) - "In Jewish homes in the time of Jesus, the beds were often all together in one room;
God often waits for our passionate persistence in prayer. It isn’t that God is reluctant and needs to be persuaded. Our persistence doesn’t change God; it changes us, developing in us a heart and passion for what God wants.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteWhy does our Father in heaven answer prayer? Not just to meet the needs of His children, but to meet them in such a way that it brings glory to His name.
Gilbrant on anaideia - In classical Greek the predominant sense of anaideia points to “shamelessness.” There are a few examples where this word or one from the same root means “impudence,” but in classical literature no form of anaideia has the sense of “persistence.”...(The man in Lk 11:5) had no shame in making an unreasonable request in the middle of the night. It was impudent of him to expect help at such a time.
First, it shows us that necessity drives bold prayer. The host had a need to provide for his friend, and he did not have the resources to meet that need. It is an awareness of great needs and our own lack of resources to meet those needs that will drive us to prayer. All too often we fail to pray because we assume our own sufficiency or competence. We wrongly think that we can get by with just a little boost from God here and there. But the fact is, we are destitute of physical, mental, and spiritual resources unless God graciously provides them. In every situation, we must recognize our desperate need and call on God for help.
Second, the need in this case was not directly personal, but the need of someone else. If the man himself had been hungry, no doubt he would have waited until morning to go to his friend’s house. But the need was not his; it was the midnight guest’s need that drove this man to his friend’s house at this unseemly hour. While we should go boldly to God to find help for our own needs, we should keep in mind that the main thrust of prayer is not just to meet our needs, but to further the Father’s kingdom. Thus we are to ask for what we need to meet the needs of others in the name of the Father’s business.
Third, the man already had an established friendship before he went to his neighbor’s house at midnight. He wasn’t just introducing himself for the first time that night! They had a personal relationship that he was acting upon. While God is often gracious to introduce Himself for the first time in response to a midnight knock on His door, the time to meet Him is before the midnight need! If you know Him as a familiar friend, you will feel more comfortable banging on His door at midnight when you have to!
Fourth, we should recognize the stark contrast between the man in bed and God. The man in bed was asleep, whereas God never sleeps. The man in bed did not want to be disturbed, whereas our requests do not disturb God. The midnight request probably put a strain on the relationship between these two friends, whereas our midnight requests do not strain our relationship with God. Jesus’ point is that we should be boldly persistent in bringing our requests to God at any hour and in any situation. If a cranky friend responds to this kind of bold persistence, how much more will your Friend in heaven respond!
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 11:9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Luke 11:9-10 speaks of the Lord's certainty to answer prayer. However some take this passage out of context and use it as if God has given them a "blank check!" A similar misuse can occur with John 15:7 where Jesus gives a similar promise "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." (cf similar promise in Jn 14:13-14) I have seen otherwise sound Christians take this verse as a veritable "carte blanche" taking it to mean that God will give us whatever we ask for. John gives us the proper balance in his first epistle writing
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask , we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. (1 John 5:14-15, 1 Jn 3:22)
Brian Bell on what Lk 11:9-13 DOES NOT mean - It doesn’t teach us to keep beating & hammering on God’s door until he answers. It doesn’t teach us to keep trying until you overcome God’s unwillingness to act. It doesn’t teach us God plays hard to get. It doesn’t teach us our goal is to coerce an unwilling God to answer.
The three verbs, ask, seek, and knock are progressively more intense, and each one repeats the promise.
"Ask" implies requesting assistance for a conscious need. "Seek" denotes asking but adds action. The idea is not just to express our need, but to get up and look around for help. It involves effort. "Knock" includes asking plus acting plus persevering—like someone who keeps pounding on a closed door....Does Jesus' call to persistence in prayer make prayer a meritorious work? The answer is clearly no, because what Jesus is calling for here has to do with heart attitude, not mere religious routine....Persistence is an indication of our soul's confidence.
As with all the over 1500 commands in the NT, there is simply no way you can obey this command in your natural strength. You need supernatural strength found ONLY in the enabling power of the indwelling Spirit. If you TRY to keep the commands in your natural strength, you will fall into the subtle snare of legalism.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 11:10 "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
In James 4:2 he rebuked his readers for failing to pray boldly: “You do not have because you do not ask.” But then he went on to warn, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3).
don't come to God only in the midnight emergencies, but keep in constant communion with your Father. Jesus called this "abiding" (Jn 15:1ff), and Paul exhorted, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Th 5:17). As we pray, God will either answer or show us why He cannot answer. Then it is up to us to do whatever is necessary in our lives so that the Father can trust us with the answer.
Name it and claim it! This view sees God as a celestial slot machine. Pull the handle enough times in prayer, be persistent, and you will get what you want! Such thinking is entirely wrong! A text without a context is a pretext. Isolating this text from its setting in the Sermon on the Mount is deadly. The broad context of the Sermon sets down the surpassing righteousness, humility, sincerity, purity, and love expected of those who are members of the kingdom of God. These virtues are beyond human attainment apart from God's grace. The broad context underscores our need. In the immediately preceding context (Mt 7:1-6) Jesus has shown us the danger of condemning other people as if we were judges. He also has told us to get the plank out of our own eye before we attempt to remove a speck from someone else's. His warning is, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Mt 7:2). This standard is terrifying. Who is adequate for such things? How can we live up to such a high standard? We need to be cleansed. We need help and grace, but from where? Jesus answers, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Mt 7:7). This famous text is not carte blanche for our material desires. Rather, it tells us how to pray for the character of the kingdom in our lives."
John Piper's book Desiring God: one of the main reasons so many of God's children don't have a significant life of prayer is not so much that we don't want to, but that we don't plan to. And we all know that the opposite of planning is not a wonderful flow of deep, spontaneous experiences in prayer. The opposite of planning is the rut.
The natural unplanned flow of spiritual life sinks to the lowest ebb of vitality.
There is a race to be run and a fight to be fought. If you want renewal in your life of prayer you must plan to see it. Make some new resolve. Try some new venture with God. Set a time. Set a place. Choose a portion of Scripture to guide you. Don't be tyrannized by the press of busy days. We all need mid-course corrections. Make this a day of turning to prayer — for the glory of God and for the fullness of your joy.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-11-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteIf your child asks for a stone or a snake, will you give it to him? No, no matter how much he begs. Children often ask for foolish things, which are withheld. The same is true with our heavenly Father. As ignorant, willful children we often ask for things that to us seem like fish or bread but which God knows will have the effect (figuratively of course) of a stone or a snake in our lives. Our Heavenly Father says no, not because He hates us but because he loves us. God's "No" is a sure sign of His wisdom and His love for us. If a five-year-old asks to play with a sharp knife, most reasonable fathers would respond with a definitive "No" and even let him cry and pout. His tears only show his immaturity. In the same way, as God's children, believers often ask for things that might bring us harm, including even things we think are good, like a new job, a better salary, a new house, etc. But God Who Alone knows the beginning from the end, sees through to the end and knows that what we have asked for would harm us more than help us. So in His omniscient, loving wisdom He says "No".
Believe me, we are not wringing gifts from an unwilling God, but going to One who knows our needs better than we know them ourselves, and whose heart towards us is the heart of generous love.
If you have the Holy Spirit, you virtually have all good gifts, for the Spirit is the earnest of God’s love, the pledge of joys to come; and he brings with him all things that are necessary and good for you.
Steven Cole writes "Whatever our needs, our greatest need is to be filled continually with God’s Spirit (Eph 5:18-note). So Jesus instructs us to come as needy children and ask the Father to pour out His Spirit upon us.
The whole idea is come and ask for whatever’s on your heart and rush into God’s presence whenever you want. When you go to ask God for whatever you ask God for, whatever it is, God gives you the Holy Spirit. You ask for comfort, He gave you the Comforter, right? You ask for help, He gave you the Helper. You ask for truth, He gave you the Truth teacher. You ask for power, He gave you the Spirit of power. You ask for wisdom, He gave you the Spirit of wisdom. You ask for guidance, He gave you the Guide. You ask for love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control and He gave you the Spirit whose fruit were released in your life.You see, this is the generosity of God. You ask for the gift, He gives the giver. You ask for the effect, He gives the cause. You ask for the product, He gives the source. Is that generosity? He gives you according to His riches, not out of His riches. You ask God, as it were, going to the bank, you ask for some money, He gives you the bank. That’s the point. I’ll just give you the Holy Spirit, then you’ve got it all because out of the Holy Spirit comes power. Out of the Holy Spirit comes the anointing which teaches you all things. Out of the Holy Spirit comes the giftedness, out of the Holy Spirit comes the fruit, out of the Holy Spirit comes the direction and the guidance. From the work of the Holy Spirit comes everything. Out of the Holy Spirit comes intercession on your behalf so that all things work together for good. I’ll just give you the Spirit....Giving us the Holy Spirit specifically is not something less than good gifts, it is something more than good gifts. The Lord is taking it a step further. He said, “I’ll give you that which is good.” And now He says, “I’ll just give you the good One, the third member of the Trinity, God of very Gods, God the Spirit to come and live in your life...In summary, when the Lord gave you the Holy Spirit, He gave you everything, absolutely everything. By His presence, by His power, by His grace we are permanently the possessors of everything we need and so much more that “He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can - ” what? “ - ask or think.”
Questions and findings:
ReplyDelete1. Is Jesus telling us to pray exactly those words?
No. This is a general format for the types of things we should pray (and possibly the order that we should pray).
2. What does "Hallowed be you name" mean? Why God's "name" in particular? What's the significance of God's name?
Hallowed means most Holy, set apart, set above all others. A name in those times was someone's persona, their reputation, how they were known. This is saying something like, "May you and how Awesome you are be known throughout the earth and may people give you the reverence you deserve".
3. What does it mean by asking God's kingdom to come?
This probably does not refer to God's kingdom that will come some day when He redeems the whole earth, but to God's kingdom now. God's kingdom is the invisible one that resides in our hearts now. It started in Acts 2 and is spreading to the whole earth, one believer at a time.
When we ask for God's kingdom to come, we are asking for God's kingdom to take over in the hearts of ourselves, our families, our church, our community, and the world. One aspect of this is asking that He continues to remake us into more like Him. Another aspect is that we are asking Him to bring more people into His kingdom. The kingdom of God will grow with or without us. This prayer is asking that we (ourselves, our family, etc) will be given the privilege to be a part of it in an increasing manner.
4. Why do we need to ask for our daily bread?
Jesus is the bread of life. Anyone who eat of His flesh and drinks His blood will never hunger or thirst again. Our daily bread is the wherewithall, the knowledge and the spiritual power to advance God's kingdom. We have no power bread on our own. We are constantly in need of Him.
5. Why do we daily need to ask God to forgive our sins? Didn't Jesus do it once for all on the cross?
We are constantly wandering from God's path (kingdom) and losing our effectiveness in expanding His kingdom. Our sin will get in the way of our relationship with God. We need to clear the air with God so that our relationship is restored (and so that we can start hearing what God is saying to us). And we need God's help to turn away from those sins that have become habitual (our idols). The first step is to confess them before God.
6. Are we telling God that we forgave everyone else? Is that necessary for us to be forgiven? Is our forgiveness conditional?
This is not about salvation but about our relationship with God here on earth (our food). Not only do we need to clear the air with God before we can hear from Him, we need to clear the air with everyone else. If we are filled with anger (or loathing or hurt) towards another, this will negatively affect our relationship with God. We can only hear from God when all obstacles have been removed in our relationship with God. The first obstacle is our sin. The second is our anger or hurt towards another.
Questions and findings continued:
ReplyDelete7. Why would God lead us into temptation?
God doesn't. This is a prayer that God will lead us away from temptation. Temptations are side-paths leading to traps. We run across them all the time. If we become weak or careless, we will follow those paths and become entrapped. We need God's help in recognizing them and having the wherewithall to not walk down those side-paths.
8. Is Jesus telling us to be impudent?
Jesus is telling us to be bold when entering God's throne room in prayer. Yes, He is holy and we are not (on our own). Yes, He is big and we are small. But, we badly need His help. He wants us before Him, talking to Him, asking for His help all the time. It's where we belong. It's what Jesus gave us by dying for us. We need to not be held back by any reluctance or confidence in ourselves and barge into His throneroom day or night - even though we do not deserve to be there.
9. Is there any conditions on ask and it will be given to you, etc.?
Let's back up a little. God already gives us all things. Why do we need to even ask for anything? Here's other questions: Do all believers have everything they could possibly want and need? Why not? Why aren't we all rich in material possessions? Why does prayer for requests do anything? Why does God want us to make them?
Here's the deal: God has set up (and is setting up) His kingdom on earth and has given us stewardship over it. Because of that, God (mostly) works through us to establish His kingdom. However, we are powerless to do so unless we totally rely on the Holy Spirit to work through us. Since we don't have the wherewithall, the knowledge and the spiritual power to advance God's kingdom, we need to ask God for those - which He will definitely grant.
Jesus message of ask, seek, knock is to His disciples. Jesus' disciples food and drink is His kingdom. If we are His disciples, our prayers will be for those things that will expand His kingdom. If we need something to expand His kingdom, God will provide it. If God has directed us to pray for someone, God will answer our prayers.
By the way, the above also answers a question about what faith is. We have faith when we are walking in the Spirit. We stop having faith when we walk our own paths. When we are walking His path, all of our requests to God will be in faith, and all of our requests of God will be answered. If we are walking our own path, the only request that will be answered is one of repentance and a desire to get back to walking God's path.
10. Vs 13 says, God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. Is this limiting what God will give us to the Holy Spirit (if it is, it's more than enough)?
This is step 1. God will not start answering any of our prayers unless we first have the Holy Spirit in us (which we ask for when we first ask to enter His kingdom).
Insightful commentary on prayer! So many memorable truth nuggets here -- the need to not ring the doorbell and run away but be aware of our continuing desperate need, praying intensely for the kingdom of God to spread, the Holy Spirit being the whole bank. I do think our daily bread also includes our bodily needs but I love expanding my understanding to include Jesus, the Bread of Life.
ReplyDelete